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The price of Bitcoin marched to fresh highs above $64,000 on Wednesday, ahead of a highly anticipated Nasdaq debut for the biggest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange.
A day after setting a record above $63,000, Bitcoin surged past $64,000 early on Wednesday, pulling back then pushing above that level again closer to the open of Wall Street trading. It was a case of the tide lifting all boats as ether, on the ethereum network, was up 7% over 24 hours, and tapped a new high above $2,399, according to data on CoinDesk.
XRP, which is pegged to Ripple, has jumped 11% in 24 hours, and was last changing hands at $1.85.
Many are linking the fresh fever for an array of cryptocurrencies to Wednesday’s big event. Coinbase will begin trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “COIN” as a direct listing, meaning it isn’t raising any capital as a traditional initial public offering would. The digital platform was given a reference price of $250 a share late on Tuesday evening, which could value it by as much as $65.3 billion.
The reference price is meant to operate as a guide to inform the public of recent private trading activity. Coinbase shares have sold privately for between $200 and $375.01 during the first quarter, according to a Mar. 23 prospectus. But Coinbase’s valuation is expected to surpass $100 million once trading begins.
“Coinbase’s direct listing is a truly momentous day for the cryptoverse,” said
Nigel Green,
chief executive and founder of independent financial advisory deVere Group, in a note to clients. “Should it hit its private market valuation of $100 billion, it would immediately become one of the 85 most valuable companies in the U.S.”
“Of course, this is driven by the fact the world’s two biggest cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin and ethereum, to which Coinbase is intrinsically linked, have risen 800% and 1,300% respectively over the last year,” he said.
But surging prices will likely bring more regulation, said Green, and investors will need to be ready for that.